The Maryland Health Progress Act of 2013 is the next big policy push to prepare the state for the largest pieces of the federal health reform law, which take effect January 2014.

The proposed bill would update Maryland health policies so that they are in line with the federal Affordable Care Act. Revised insurance rules, new Medicaid eligibility thresholds and better definition for the state’s health benefit exchange are among the top items in the bill.

The General Assembly needs to approve the bill or else Maryland may not be able to meet requirements of the federal health law beginning in 2014. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr is sponsoring SB 274, while House Speaker Michael Busch is sponsoring HB 228.

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown is a major proponent of the bill.

Here are a few key aspects:

• A funding stream for the health benefit exchange: The state’s exchange has so far been paid for with federal grants. But beginning in 2015 the state will have to cover the cost of the exchange, which is estimated at $35 million in 2015. The health bill proposes paying for the exchange through a tax on insurance companies.

• Changes to the Maryland Health Insurance Plan: MHIP, as the program is known, provides insurance for individuals who have been unable to get insurance elsewhere, often because of a medical condition that makes them costly to cover. The program was originally intended to dissolve in 2014 and many of its members moved to health plans in the exchange, which begins enrollment in October.

That plan has changed. Now the state insurance plan will be phased out over the next few years. The health bill specifies that no new members be enrolled beyond the end of 2013. The bill also tasks state health leaders with determining the specifics of phasing out the plan, indicating it should wind down between 2015 and 2020.

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